Anthony Plaskett was given a five-year prison term in January 2024 which prosecutors argued was unduly lenient.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service asked the court to consider imposing a longer custodial term due to the overall seriousness of the offending involved.
In a decision published on July 31, 2024, the Lord Justice Clerk Lady Dorrian upheld the Crown’s appeal.
The original five-year prison term has been quashed and replaced with an eight-year sentence.
While sentence is rightfully the domain of the independent judiciary, the balance of justice is served by the Crown being allowed to appeal in limited circumstances.
The Appeal Court has set a high test to be satisfied for this to happen.
The sentence must be unduly lenient, which means that it is out with the range of sentences which the sentencing judge could reasonably have imposed after taking account of all relevant factors.
Kenny Donnelly, Deputy Crown Agent for COPFS, said:
“Unduly lenient sentence appeals are not common but are important to ensure the public interest is properly served by asking the court to examine again sentences which appear to the Crown to fall outside of the range of punishment reasonably considered appropriate.
“The Crown believes that it is important that the harm caused by sexual offending, and the culpability of the convicted person, is consistently reflected in sentencing decisions.
“The Crown has a responsibility in legislation to consider undue leniency in sentencing and we note the decision of the Appeals Court.
“COPFS remains committed to improving the criminal justice journey for victims from the stage of reporting all the way through to sentencing.
“We recognise the devastating impact sexual offences can have on all those affected and will always seek to ensure the effective, rigorous, and fair prosecution of sexual crime.”
Plaskett was found guilty of three charges in December 2023 following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
In April 2021, he sexually assaulted a woman and raped another on the same day at properties in the Scottish Borders.
He was convicted of raping a third woman in February 2020 at an address in West Lothian.